A company has missed its deadline to clean up thousands of tonnes of illegally dumped waste from a farm near Cultus Lake in British Columbia’s Columbia Valley.

The waste was originally dumped at the landfill over the course of several months in 2022 on a property on Iverson Road near the lake, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, without obtaining the province’s permit, a violation of British Columbia’s Environmental Management Act.

The waste, which contains large amounts of plastics, wood and other foreign materials and is therefore unsuitable for composting, was disposed of by Fraser Valley Renewables (FVR), the Abbotsford-based organic waste conversion company.

The company has been ordered by the province’s Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to remediate over 14,000 tonnes of material by May 13.

However, the ALC states that the company failed to do so and is now in violation of the order.

The commission, which has jurisdiction over all land that is part of the province’s agricultural land reservation, told CBC News in an email that it is considering further enforcement action, including an administrative penalty or court order, to ensure compliance.

D’Arcy Henderson holds a handful of trash that blew from commercial trash piles onto a neighbouring property in 2023. She is still concerned about the trash and hopes the province takes action. (Justine Boulin/CBC)

The company stated that weather conditions prevented the renovation work from being carried out.

“The landowner and Fraser Valley Renewables are actively exploring several options to relocate the product without going to an ALR site,” an FVR spokesperson said in a statement.

“We are continuing to look for ways to purchase the product. However, due to the winter conditions and heavy rain, access to the fields is limited.”

The FVR spokesman said the company had “strong indications” of a solution in the near future.

Concerned residents

But residents of the Columbia Valley, south of Chilliwack in British Columbia, doubt that the company will actually implement its plan.

Fears have been raised that the waste could seep into an underground groundwater reservoir and contaminate the local water supply.

Local resident D’Arcy Henderson said she hoped authorities would send a clear message to FVR by taking regulatory action against them, possibly in the form of fines.

“I would just hope that this one time they would take the step and do the right thing – not only for their own reputation, which I think must be ruined, but also for the health of the community,” she said of the company.

Henderson said she remains concerned about the impact of the trash on Cultus Lake, which is home to many species of fish.

“We’re all part of the bigger picture,” she said. “So if you want to call yourself renewable, let’s go for it.”

The garbage contains large amounts of plastic, wood and other foreign materials. (Justine Boulin/CBC)

Months of dumping

The garbage was dumped in 2022 at 810 Iverson Rd., a property owned by farmer Bruce Vander Wyck.

An FVR spokesperson told CBC News in January 2023 that the company was working with Vander Wyck to increase the nutrient levels of its farmland, which should be inspected on-site for foreign substances such as plastics.

Residents said they were first informed about the project in March 2022. In the months that followed, residents said up to 12 semi-trailers per day were seen delivering garbage. Complaints were filed with the Ministry of Environment and the ALC in July.

When the ministry’s inspectors visited the construction site on November 17, 2022, some of the material had already been spread on the ground.

Officials concluded that FVR’s decision to store, test and apply the untreated material at the farm amounted to dumping commercial waste without a government permit, a criminal offense punishable by a $1 million fine and six months in prison.

The ALC says it does not know where the waste will be relocated, but has stated that it cannot be moved to another site in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

FVR collects and processes municipal organic waste, food and restaurant waste, and yard waste throughout the Greater Vancouver Area.